Dear Friends,
On Valentine’s Day, a New York Times article (also linked in today’s edition below) informed me that the current megadrought in the west is the worst in 12 centuries—60 generations.
I wasn’t surprised.
Just two days earlier, I’d observed the devastating demise of two patches of ancient agaves that had survived without human intervention for at least seven centuries. Killed by drought.
These were special agaves. Between 1990 and 1995, Archaeology Southwest volunteers surveyed about 70 miles along the San Pedro River—the next valley east from Tucson. We recorded the presence of agave plants in rock piles or terraces that dated from about 900 to 1200 CE.
In 2014, nearly 20 years after our San Pedro survey, I connected with Wendy Hodgson and Andrew Salywon of the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. We started revisiting sites where agave plants had been recorded—and for the most part, we found the agaves still thriving.
Wendy and Andrew carried out genetic studies and concluded that these plants were domesticates—in other words, selectively bred by people over time to bring out certain attributes—and that they represented a new species. Thus was named Agave sanpedroensis.
Archaeology Southwest was recently awarded a grant by the Southwestern Foundation for Education and Historical Preservation. A key element of the grant is to work with the Cascabel Conservation Association in the San Pedro valley to plant this ancient species in experimental rock piles and terraces in hopes of its continuance. The threat posed by the megadrought raises the urgency of this project.
The reason for Saturday’s trip to the San Pedro was to share our community partnership and agave project with a group of Liverman Scholars. The Liverman program connects “diverse UArizona undergraduate students to each other and to local environmental realities while fostering dialogue and understanding across academic and community solutions for societal grand challenges.”
It was invigorating to spend an afternoon with these bright and inspiring students. But their future seems fraught, given that the NYT article concludes that 42 percent of the current megadrought is attributable to human-caused climate change.
And that is, indeed, our grand challenge as Earth dwellers.
I welcome your thoughts, Friends,
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Banner image: Andrew Salywon.
New Findings about the 1540 Coronado Expedition
A Tucson archaeologist has unveiled a discovery in Santa Cruz County that she thinks could rewrite the history of the Coronado Expedition. Deni Seymour said she has unearthed hundreds of artifacts linked to the 16th-century Spanish expedition, including pieces of iron and copper crossbow bolts, distinctive caret-headed nails, a medieval horseshoe and spur, a sword point and bits of chain mail armor. The “trophy artifact” is a bronze wall gun—more than 3 feet long and weighing roughly 40 pounds—found sitting on the floor of a structure that she said could be proof of the oldest European settlement in the continental United States. CBS News | Read More >>
Excerpt: A Genetic Chronicle of the First Peoples in the Americas
Scientists once thought the peopling of the Americas occurred around 13,000 years ago, following the last ice age, when a small group of people crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Northeast Asia to Northwestern Alaska. In the last 10 to 20 years, however, a mountain of new evidence has emerged, showing us that people had been in the Americas for thousands of years before then. This is not a surprise to Indigenous peoples, many of whom have Traditional Histories that situate their origins within what is today known as the Americas. SAPIENS, excerpted from Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas. © 2022 by Jennifer Raff. Published by Twelve Books. | Read More >>
Tree-Ring Data Show Southwest’s Megadrought Is Worst since 800 CE
The megadrought in the American Southwest has become so severe that it’s now the driest two decades in the region in at least 1,200 years, scientists said Monday, and climate change is largely responsible. The drought, which began in 2000 and has reduced water supplies, devastated farmers and ranchers and helped fuel wildfires across the region, had previously been considered the worst in 500 years, according to the researchers. Henry Fountain in the New York Times | Read More >>
Archaeology Café Welcomes Kelley Hays-Gilpin
Join us on March 1, 2022, when Kelley Hays-Gilpin (Northern Arizona University and Museum of Northern Arizona) will discuss “Birds, Feathers, and Ancient Pueblo Pottery.” Since the beginning of Pueblo pottery traditions in the seventh century CE, potters have looked to birds as inspiration for vessel shapes and painted designs. In the 1400s, feathers became a favorite motif, and birds and feathers are still important subjects in Pueblo pottery today. In this talk, Kelley will explore images and meanings on a wide variety of ancestral, historic, and contemporary pottery, focusing on the Hopi Mesas. Archaeology Café (Archaeology Southwest) | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
Wupatki National Monument Offering Backcountry Hikes
Wupatki National Monument will be conducting three overnight backcountry hikes in April 2022 to the Crack-in-Rock pueblo site. These hikes will be offered for April 2–3, April 16–17, and April 23–24. Online applications are currently being accepted through March 1 and participants will be chosen via lottery system. Each hike is limited to twelve participants to preserve fragile resources, and preference is given to applicants who have not participated in the past three years. The cost for the hike is $75 per person and paid on the day of the hike. Navajo-Hopi Observer | Read More >>
Continuing Coverage: Repatriation of Mimbres Objects Approved by UMN Regents
The board approved a resolution Friday to return the Mimbres objects at the Weisman Art Museum to their Native American tribes. The University has begun consultations with 28 Native American tribes that are, or are likely to be, affiliated with the Mimbres objects. The Mimbres Collection includes Native American funerary objects like stone tools, arrowheads, beads and pottery that belonged to the Mimbres people who resided in the southwest U.S. beginning around 1000 AD. … “The University is exhibiting the values of what it means to be a land-grant institution by authorizing the repatriation of the Mimbres objects to their rightful home,” board chair Kendall Powell said at the meeting. “We express our regret that it was not done sooner.” Maia Irvin and Gabrielle Lombard in the Minnesota Daily | Read More >>
Read the University’s news release >>
Video: Reyaun Francisco and Laura Paskus Discuss the Chaco 10-Mile Protection Zone
Environment reporter Laura Paskus talks with Reyaun Francisco, Environmental Justice Director, Nuestra Tierra, about oil and gas development on lands surrounding Chaco Culture National Historic Park. Our Land and NMPBS | Watch Now >>
Podcast: Historical Archaeology for the Future
Host Jessica Yaquinto interviews Dr. Ayana Omilade Flewellen (they/she), Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside. Through Dr. Flewellen’s work in historical archaeology of the African Diaspora focusing on the era of Enslavement and post-emancipation, we talk about how the way people, in this case Black women, dress and adorn themselves and how those practices are shaped by larger factors, including racism and sexism. We also dive into the work of the Society of Black Archaeologists and Diving With a Purpose to tell a larger story of Black history in the field of Anthropology and to the general public, as well as to provide opportunities for the next generation of Black scholars and maritime archaeologists. Heritage Voices | Listen Now >>
Curriculum Guides for “In the Americas”
We are pleased to announce that David Yetman and cinematographer Daniel Duncan have resumed filming for Season 10 of “In the Americas” with David Yetman. Due to ongoing COVID concerns, they have confined the initial programs to areas within driving distance of Tucson. During the pandemic downtime, Duncan has contracted with Tucson area educators to produce lesson plans based on the first ninety programs of “In the Americas.” These tools are available free of charge, and materials for the first six seasons are now posted. The Southwest Center, University of Arizona | Learn More >>
Feb. 17 Webinar: Route 66 Before the Myth: Archaeological Perspectives of the Mother Road
Archaeologist and Historian David Purcell will share artifacts found along six miles of Route 66 that crosses the Petrified Forest National Park. Over 11,000 artifacts provide surprising insights into the mid-twentieth century motoring experience. Museum of Northern Arizona | More Information >>
This talk will be live-streamed on MNA’s Facebook page >>
REMINDER: Feb. 17 Online Forum: Justice, Public Lands, and Indigenous Peoples
With moderator C.J. Alvarez and presenters David Treuer and Patty Limerick. Over a century after the establishment of our national parks, questions about the scope of parks and other public lands, their management, and the heritage of their original Indigenous stewards are increasingly the focus of debate. Join SAR as two historians and an Indigenous writer discuss how public lands may figure in efforts to undo past injustice. School for Advanced Research | More Information and Registration >>
REMINDER: Feb. 17 Webinar: How to Build a Career and a Life in Archaeology
“How to Build a Career and a Life in Archaeology: Tips from the Hired and Hirers for BIPOC Archaeologists.” A panel of three persons who hire and three persons who were recently hired discuss their experiences and offer advice in break-out rooms. Archaeological Centers Coalition | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
REMINDER: Feb. 17 Webinar: Indigenous Mexico’s Maya, Mixtec, and Aztec Codices
With ethnohistorian Michael Brescia. Mexican codices are manuscripts made by precontact and Spanish colonial period Mesoamerican peoples. Dr. Brescia will discuss what the codices do and don’t say about these people’s political, economic, social, and cultural lives. Old Pueblo Archaeology Center | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
March 5 Webinar: Taste of Celebrate Cedar Mesa
While we were hoping to be able to gather in person this coming spring, the state of the pandemic has rapidly shifted. In order to prioritize the health of our community, we have decided to postpone the in-person Celebrate event previously scheduled for March 4–6, until September. We will be hosting a free, virtual event as a placeholder for the planned in-person Celebrate event. This virtual event is an exciting opportunity to meet FCM’s new staff and Executive Director, learn about what our Stewardship, Ambassador, and Field Programs have been up to, hear updates on our Bears Ears Educational Center and new educational programs, and check in on the status of Bears Ears National Monument! Friends of Cedar Mesa | More Information and Registration >>
March 10 and 17 Two-Part Webinar: The Memory of Water: Elements and Ancestry in Bears Ears
With author Craig Childs and Hopi archaeologist Lyle Balenquah. While trekking through beautiful Southeast Utah, Craig and Lyle comment on the rich history of the Hopi people throughout the area while highlighting the palpable role of water to the landscape itself as well as to all ancestral people that called this place home. While journeying under the late summer sun, they continue to discover the almost surreal connection between time, water, and ancestry. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | More Information and Registration >>
See you next week! Please do send us notice of upcoming webinars and Zoom lectures, tours and workshops, and anything else you’d like to share with the friends. Thanks!